From: 23x11.5c@gmail.com   
      
   Why Your Brain Needs Water   
   Water enhances mental function and is essential to survival   
      
   Published on October 15, 2010    
   by Joshua Gowin, Ph.D.    
   You, Illuminated   
      
   On most mornings, one of the first stops through my waking-up routine is the   
   kitchen cupboard, where I keep my cups and other drinking vessels. Even if I'm   
   not particularly thirsty, as a student of the brain, I'm convinced of the   
   value of drinking enough    
   water. Of all the tricks I've learned for keeping my mind sharp, from getting   
   enough sleep to doing crossword puzzles, staying hydrated may be the one I   
   follow most closely, partly because it's so easy to get a drink whenever I'm   
   thirsty. This is a    
   convenience to be grateful for, not taken for granted.   
   Our brains depend on proper hydration to function optimally. Brain cells   
   require a delicate balance between water and various elements to operate, and   
   when you lose too much water, that balance is disrupted. Your brain cells lose   
   efficiency.   
      
   Years of research have found that when we're parched, we have more difficulty   
   keeping our attention focused. Dehydration can impair short-term memory   
   function and the recall of long-term memory. The ability to perform mental   
   arithmetic, like calculating    
   whether or not you'll be late for work if you hit snooze for another 15   
   minutes, is compromised when your fluids are low.   
      
   Over the course of a typical twenty-four hour period, the longest spell most   
   of us go without fluid intake is the six to eight hours we spend sleeping.   
   Sleeping is hardly the kind of activity that you sweat over, but that doesn't   
   mean you're not losing    
   water during the night. With every somnolent breath, you expel moisture, and   
   the cumulative effect of a night's sleep is to dry out.   
      
   It's for this reason that I habitually get a drink soon after I wake up. If   
   you're like me, when you're simply reminded of the negative effects of   
   dehydration, your next thought is to head for the water cooler.   
      
      
      
   http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/you-illuminated/201010/why-y   
   ur-brain-needs-water   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)